Tuesday, September 10, 2024

*** This is a rough transcript of today’s show ***

 

It is the 10th of September 2024. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis. 

A very happy Tuesday to you here in the wild and wooly Fall months of 2024 where you get random mailbag episodes as I am traveling.

Ray writes again from Staten Island; I presume where he wrote from before- the least populated of the 5 Boroughs- home to the Wu-Tang Clan and the Fresh Kills Landfill, soon to be the Fresh Kills Park- which sounds bad until you learn that “kills” is a dutch word for stream. Fishkill, Fresh Kill, Clean Kill… it all sounds better then.

Ray did a thing where he suggested a show for a weekend edition (after all, everyone wants the 30-ish minute treatment), but after a little agonizing over the topic, I decided that for the time period, it would work better as a mailbag- but one heck of a topic and one we haven’t dealt with on this show yet.

Before I tell you who Ray asked about- let me tell you something about myself: I dig Meatloaf. Sure, the meal, especially from Costco, but I’m talking about the singer- Bat out of Hell and all that. Lyrics and Music by Jim Steinman.

It’s theatrical and a little cheesy and an acquired taste- sometimes the butt of jokes, but I like it.

So- this was a helpful parallel when Ray wrote to ask about a CHA take on the singularly named, quintessential 80’s Christian pop star: Carman.

SO- I start with his first major album (Some-O-Dat, on Youtube and a slick 120 bucks on Vinyl at Amazon) and I listen though undisturbed.

The title track “Some-O-Dat” is like…. Elvis meets Psalty? Twang and Rock Billy, but really didactic and a little childlike? Onto the next track- “Overcoming Child,” and I get a taste of a Carman staple- talking over his musicians- a kind of sauntering storytelling almost bordering on rap (he goes there later).

One track, or part of a track, can sound like anything on the radio. Then a penny whistle or voice-over, say, as the devil… and my take became: oh, he’s not trying to make an album, per se… he’s a Las Vegas performer, a showman who wants to use his music as a prop for his ministry. And with that, he makes sense and is even admirable at his best.  

He was born Carmen Dominic Licciardello in New Jersey in 1956. He was an accordion prodigy (?) and formed bands as a youth. He often told a story about performing- Elvis style- in Atlantic City and was offered a gig, but it was tied to the Mafia, so he split for California, where his sister lived with her husband, a Christian pastor.

They invited Carman to Disneyland one night in 1976 when Andrae  Crouch was performing, and Carman accepted Christ during an altar call (at Disneyland!)

In 1980 he made an independent album that caught the attention of Bill Gaither- one of the Godfathers of Gospel music- and he made his “Some-O-Dat” or self titled album.

He would move on from the Gaithers and become one of the most recognizable Christian artists of the 80s- his music videos were campy but sincere. He had five gold and one platinum album. He was named “Artist of the Year” by Charisma magazine twice. He became known for his showmanship- a frequently cited event is his concert before over 70,000 in Dallas in 1994 (where everything is big… and sometimes exaggerated).

One critic suggests he is the Christian answer to Andrew Lloyd Webber, while another compares him to  Frank Peretti by way of Meatloaf- if you get that reference, we should be friends.

His was a performing ministry more than a pop career, and I believe he would happily affirm that. After being with WORD subsidiary Myrrh, he released his own albums through a publishing arm of his ministry.

When he was diagnosed with Cancer, his devoted fans raised hundreds of thousands—not for a new record but for a tour. In fact, his ‘best’ or most acclaimed albums are actually his live ones.

He had number-one hits with The Champion and Radically Saved. He married at 61, after receiving his first diagnosis of terminal cancer.

He continued to tour up until his death in 2021 at the age of 65. Tributes poured in, and the campy, self-styled Vegas act was remembered above all for his zeal and faith.

A lot there, Ray, but I listened to as much music for this as I do a weekend show and thoroughly enjoyed myself- even in the silliness.

 

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary and Hebrews 12- just one verse- but it packs something:

3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

  

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 10th of September 2024, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by the Steinman to My Meatloaf- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who lives by Disneyland but hasn’t been in YEARS… no moral issue; it’s just too expensive. I’m Dan van Voorhis. 

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.